Wild about Africa? Puma has unleashed a line of apparel, footwear, and accessories inspired by the landscape and climate of the continent. Primarily sourced and manufactured in Kenya in collaboration with Wildlife Works, which runs an "eco-factory" in Rukinga, the "Wilderness" collection features woven shirts, cargo shorts and pants, graphic tees, desert boots, and a backpack with a "worn, bushwhacked" aesthetic that addresses the element of heat, according to the sportswear giant. Bonus: More than 80 percent of apparel styles are derived from fair-trade cotton, which not only pays workers an equitable price for sustainably produced cotton, but also provides them with an additional premium for investing in community projects such as education, health care, farming, and infrastructure.

INTO AFRICA

Besides creating jobs and supporting development in various parts of the continent, Puma’s Wilderness line also leverages the company’s 20 percent stake in Wilderness Holdings Limited, a Botswana-based ecotourism group that runs safari camps and tours across the continent with an eye on preserving Africa’s pristine wilderness areas and wildlife.

By 2013, Puma aims to manufacture the entirety of its Wilderness apparel using fair-trade cotton.

Active in nine countries—Botswana, Congo, Kenya, Namibia, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the Seychelles—Wilderness Holdings Limited also promotes the growth of rural communities in each region. The company provided Puma with design cues for the safari-styled Wilderness range.

“The Puma Wilderness collection brings us yet another step closer to our goal of developing more sustainable and socially responsible lines, and in turn furthering Puma’s mission to become the most desirable and sustainable sport-lifestyle company,” says Franz Koch, the company’s CEO, in a statement. “Our target for the future of the apparel collection is one made with 100 percent fair-trade cotton, while also utilizing even more of the imagery and beauty of Africa as inspiration.”

With the support of Fairtrade International, Puma aims to manufacture the entirety of its Wilderness apparel using fair-trade cotton by 2013.